Chapter 101: May I offer a joke in these trying times?

Kellen was worried at first. Of course he would be when hearing that the alarms had been sounded, but he also knew his man. Rhys would have whatever issue that had caused them to sound the alarm under control in a short time. This was his town, and considering he’d hand-selected who was going to go if he sounded the alarm, he knew that he’d predicted things would go out of control.

Sergei had let him know that little detail, sending off the men and women he’d personally selected with a slight tick in his jaw. Kellen wondered what that tick was for, until Sergei voiced his concerns quickly.

“I wish I could be there.” He muttered and Kellen had relaxed. It was just envy. Two Captains who liked to be in the thick of it, hands on in their approach to dealing with their problems. Hill had grumbled too, and Kellen was actually quite happy that he wasn’t there. Only because he knew that he’d get in Rhys’ way, and might cause more problems.

A gun could only do so much when the reports said that there was fire and monsters everywhere.

“Did they say what kind of monsters were there?” Kellen asked and the person in charge of communication focused on what they were hearing. It appeared that the others didn’t really care what type of monsters were at the scene, just that there were monsters there. That was very typical of them, honestly.

They didn’t have to worry about if this type of monster was in heat, if it was venomous or poisonous, if when startled it would spit spikes, none of that shit. They could just grab the surroundings and throw it at the monster. At least, that was true for Hill and Sergei. Kellen couldn’t do that. He was just a Guide.

“Um, it appears that there are several large type monsters of a bug variety. The guess is giant worms.” That was rather surprising to hear. Kellen made a thoughtful expression. They were quite the nuisance to deal with. Several rows of teeth inside a circular maw that devoured anything and everything. They were omnivores in the truest sense.

They also tended to be as wide as a van, and as long as a two damn train carriages when fully grown. Kellen could vaguely remember that someone had once wanted to eat them by farming them, but that hadn’t panned out.

Kellen had thought it was a stupid idea, made even more ridiculous when he found out that the person who had proposed the idea hadn’t even been inside a gate before, let alone seen a giant worm before. He was glad that it hadn’t passed.

He would have hated to have been in charge of the transport of people in and out of the gate to the damn farm. He’d probably would have had to educate them on the damn monsters too.

“Any visuals on the area? Is everyone doing okay?” Kellen asked, prodding for more information. He could tell that Hill was nervous next to him, worried that he was asking for…dubious reasons. Kellen was just genuinely curious, and wanted to make sure that everyone was okay. He trusted Rhys, truly, he was just feeling nosy missing out on the action.

“No. We’ve lost visuals, but that is to be expected. Most of the team has moved on Captain Rhys’ orders. They found an unusual amount of Guides in cells in the hideout. They are prioritizing getting them to safety.” Kellen stiffened.

“What?” He hissed, his anger level rising. Even Hill froze.

“How many?” She asked, her instincts as a Lieutenant flaring awake.

“Unknown. The Captain stopped giving a count after 15. A batch was already escorted out of the hideout, but after they kept finding some he stopped since it would put his people at risk.” Kellen didn’t like the sound of that.

“Send two more of our telekinetics to the area. Harper and Filipe.” Sergei ordered, and it was done. Hill said nothing, her phone out, her fingers moving rapidly as she swirled the lollipop around in her mouth.

“I think we’ll be okay.” She said eventually, glancing up at the crowd. “I just found out that Miro is on site. I hadn’t realised that the Captain had asked him to be a backup, but Pamela and Taylor are confirming he asked. Taylor even saw him after your check up, Kellen, to make sure he was healthy enough to do so.” Hill let out a soft sigh, then her lips curled up. “Pamela just let me know that Miro stormed out of his greenhouse, his eyes already glowing. Oo, they’re in trouble.” Kellen had no idea what that meant.

“Is Miro…powerful?” Kellen knew he was asking a strange question. He knew that the man was. He was an A Class Earth Esper, and had been personally recruited into the Guild by Rhys. He had just…seen him more in a research capacity then he had seen him in an actual fighting capacity.

“We normally don’t let Miro loose because he’s unable to control himself. The Captain seemed to think that things were going to get messy, or, he wanted the public to think that it was the E.A.G. who made everything a mess. Either way, the fires have something to burn.” Hill said, sliding her gaze towards Kellen with a warm look. “However, Miro is going to be wiped after. It’s why he’s normally more behind the scenes with his powers. He’s always had a weak body, and because of his earth magic, it attacks his body more.” This was the first time Kellen was hearing about this.

“What? His magic hurts him?” Kellen repeated and Sergei, a Captain, let out a deep sigh. It drew Kellen’s attention towards him and Sergei frowned.

“Yeah. Most powers don’t affect others, but there are a few that do. Guides are the obvious people who have their bodies affected by the powers that they have. Healers would be next, then there are the freaks that are like Rhys, and then Earth Espers. There are a few others, like most of the elemental Espers experience some kind of change. Gunther’s eyes are one. I hear they didn’t always used to be black like that.” Sergei said with a shrug. This was the first time that Kellen was hearing about this.

“I had no idea.” Kellen admitted. “Espers don’t normally talk about their physical changes after their powers.” And especially not to Guides. He didn’t need to add that part to the group before him. Hill chuckled.

“I was waiting for Miro himself to bring it up, since he considers it a rather sensitive topic. He just doesn’t want anyone to pity him. He considers it the sacrifice he has to make for being as close to his babies as he is.” Hill said, shrugging as well. She was still on her phone, probably still messaging Taylor and Pamela. Or, she was using that damn group chat that Kellen still wasn’t in.

He wasn’t bitter about it. Not at all.

Hill’s soft chuckle had Kellen glancing at her in his seat next to her.

“Sorry. I was just remembering that if the reports are true then the Captain is probably miserable.” That made Kellen’s ears perk up.

“What? Why?” Kellen asked and Hill chuckled again. It was honestly more like a giggle full of happiness at someone else’s expense.

“He hates giant worms. Finds them disgusting.” Hill said, a gleam in her gaze. Kellen didn’t find it funny, he found it sad. Rhys didn’t like giant worms? Then he probably was upset that he had to deal with them. Kellen was going to have to comfort him when he got home and this long day was over.

“First van is on the move.” The Esper in charge of monitoring the situation said. “Smart that Captain Thatcher had two vans nearby. He’s heading towards the Saturn Guild. Is your Healer on standby?” Hill was nodding already.

“Yup. She’s heard that there are a lot of Guides coming in. We also have some of the Guides on standby as well.” Hill said. Kellen knew that his Dad was part of that team, and if he had convinced the others, Charlie.

“Make sure that he’s there.” Kellen said softly. “There’s a chance he might know the Guides.” Kellen told Hill. Hill tilted her head to the side, not fully understanding what Kellen was saying.

“Who?” She asked and Kellen grumbled.

“You know who, Hill. Hangs out with my Dad? Our second child?” Kellen said after a long moment and Hill gasped, then nodded.

“I’ll let Taylor know.” She muttered while Kellen could feel a couple sets of eyes on him. That included Sergei, who was smirking.

“When are you two going to have a third?” Sergei asked, clearly teasing Kellen. Much to everyone’s surprise, Kellen flipped him the bird. Sergei’s eyes widened as Kellen huffed, adjusting his eye patch since it had moved.

“Shut up, Sergei.” Kellen muttered and Sergei chuckled, smirking.

“Sounds like it’s not far off. Who else are you going to adopt? The gaggle of Guides that just came in? Is there any note on how old they are?” Sergei’s question was slightly angled towards his correspondent.

“Uh…one sec.” He muttered before quietly whispering to someone. Kellen watched him, then watched the colour fade from his face. “Young, sir. Very young. Barely teens.” Kellen felt his face drop and then he felt the temperature drop in the room as well. Hill whistled.

“Hate to say it, but I think Captain Sergei is right. The gaggle are going to be your next child.” Hill said, but the humour wasn’t there. It was more like she was speaking the truth, and with the turmoil that was turning in Kellen’s gut, he couldn’t help but agree. He got to his feet, his emotions high.

“I know we were supposed to wait here for Rhys, but I-”

“I think the Captain will understand, Kellen. Sergei, can your people let him know that we’re going back to the Guild?” Sergei snorted.

“Already on it. You guys go. Take care of the new folks arriving.” Sergei said, waving his hand dismissively. “We’ll take care of cleaning up. Just make sure that everyone gets back safe.” Sergei was very reliable in that sense. Kellen nodded firmly, exhaling slowly.

“Thanks, Sergei.” Kellen said, and Sergei gave a wink, the temperature in the room still cold.

“Make sure to tell Brent knows how considerate I am.” Sergei was attempting humour, which was a surprising, but needed thing at the moment.

“I’m sure he’s already aware, but I’ll remind him.” Kellen told him, and the mood shifted slightly. Amazing how a few words could change the mentality of these S Class Espers.

“The crew is pulling the vehicles around now.” Hill told him. Good. Kellen wanted to only be a few minutes behind his Dad and Charlie when it came to greeting the Guides. Especially if they were as young as he feared.

What the hell was the E.A.G. up to?

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